Current File : //usr/share/help/C/gnome-system-monitor/process-identify-file.page
<page xmlns="http://projectmallard.org/1.0/"
type="topic" style="task"
id="process-identify-file">
<info>
<revision version="0.2" pkgversion="3.11" date="2014-01-26" status="review"/>
<link type="guide" xref="index#processes-tasks" group="processes-tasks" />
<include href="legal.xml" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2001/XInclude"/>
<credit type="author copyright">
<name>Phil Bull</name>
<email>philbull@gmail.com</email>
<years>2011</years>
</credit>
<credit type="author copyright">
<name>Michael Hill</name>
<email>mdhillca@gmail.com</email>
<years>2011, 2014</years>
</credit>
<desc>Search for a file that's open to display which process is using it.</desc>
</info>
<title>Find which program is using a specific file</title>
<comment>
<cite date="2011-06-18" href="mailto:philbull@gmail.com">Phil Bull</cite>
<p>Explain how you can search for a file (or part of a filename) and it will
show which processes are using it. Explain why this might be useful.</p>
</comment>
<p>Sometimes an error message will tell you a device (like the sound device or
the DVD ROM) is busy, or the file you want to edit is in use. To find the
process or processes responsible:</p>
<steps>
<item><p>Click
<guiseq><gui>System Monitor</gui><gui>Search for Open Files</gui></guiseq>.</p>
</item>
<item><p>Enter a filename or part of a filename. This could be
<file>/dev/snd</file> for the sound device or <file>/media/cdrom</file>
for the DVD ROM.</p>
</item>
<item><p>Click <gui>Find</gui>.</p>
</item>
</steps>
<p>This will display a list of running processes that are currently accessing
the file or files that match the search. Quitting the program should allow you
to access the device or edit the file.</p>
</page>
Mini Shell